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minute posted:Has anyone read Code Name Verity? I just finished it and it might be my favorite book of the year. It's part spy novel, part coming of age story, and is just incredibly well written and intricately structured. I'm a bit late to the party, having just finished it a few days ago, but I just wanted to chime in to say that this is a great book. It's one of the few YA books that I've read that are written really well - I tend to get sucked in by the stories and settings while ignoring the less-than-stellar writing - and I'm finding myself thinking about it constantly the past couple of days. There's a decent review here filled with spoilers; it's hard to really talk about this book without giving away the plot.
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Jan 2, 2013 04:54
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Is it worth finishing the Eragon series? I read the first half of the saga, but... faltered after Eldest. What's the consensus on Paolini in this thread, if any -- Author prodigy, or charlatan?
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Jan 2, 2013 18:41
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Honestly, no one I've spoken to over the age of 15 actually thinks the books are good (if you want some really venomous takedowns of the series, check out the Goodreads reviews). It's impressive that Paolini wrote such wildly successful books when he was so young, but you can see the signs of his age/inexperience - he uses practically every fantasy cliche imaginable and there are eerie similarities to LOTR and other popular fantasy series. This is my favourite review: quote:Eragon is my favorite book to love to hate. It's got so many things wrong with it: horrible sense of place, ridiculous "wisdom", bad magic, racial and gender assumptions that range from badly considered to offensive. But the book had a certain greasy charm. It's like your younger brother stole all your best fantasy fiction, and instead of learning how to masturbate most effectively like most 15 year olds, wrote this energetic, stupid, fun story. And when I say it's like that, what I mean is that's exactly what happened. I don't know, despite all that I enjoyed rereading the first three books a year ago, and will probably pick up the last book just to see how it ends. I am willing to forgive a lot of flaws if a book has talking dragons.
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Jan 3, 2013 02:49
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naptalan posted:Honestly, no one I've spoken to over the age of 15 actually thinks the books are good (if you want some really venomous takedowns of the series, check out the Goodreads reviews). It's impressive that Paolini wrote such wildly successful books when he was so young, but you can see the signs of his age/inexperience - he uses practically every fantasy cliche imaginable and there are eerie similarities to LOTR and other popular fantasy series. Yikes, venomous indeed! It sounds like Paolini lost the magic as he got older. At least they acknowledge that the books started out fun to read, if a bit indulgent. If that review's even half-right, though, I doubt the latter half of the Inheritance Cycle is something I want to spend my time reading. I'll just wait until the sequels to the Eragon film come out. DarkUltim8Hedgehog fucked around with this message at 03:22 on Jan 3, 2013 |
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Jan 3, 2013 03:03
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I'm reading through the sporkings on the Anti-shurtugal lj community for the last book and that review is pretty spot on. The book is extremely long winded and very bitter. Whereas Eragon was just a mere Mary Sue in the previous books, Paolini has turned him into a complete loving rear end in a top hat of a character in the last one.
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Jan 3, 2013 04:26
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Do Robin Jarvis' books fall under the category of Young Adult stuff? I read it when I was 10ish and it seemed marketed to children in the same vein as Redwall, but some of the stuff in them was so loving grim and morbid. I'm mainly talking about The Deptford Mice and it's prequel trilogy considering they directly involved key characters having their flesh cut from their bodies and worn by the enemy. It was pretty hosed.
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Jan 8, 2013 11:34
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Started on a junior spy kick and found a number of books that have become something of a guilty pleasure to read. First up is the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore. CHERUB agents are highly trained, extremely talented--and all under the age of seventeen. For official purposes, these agents do not exist. They are sent out on missions to spy on terrorists, hack into crucial documents, and gather intel on global threats—all without gadgets or weapons. It is an exceptionally dangerous job, but these agents have one crucial advantage: adults never suspect that teens are spying on them. I've gone through seven of the books already, currently reading the 8th, and anticipate finishing up the rest of the first series in a few more days (a total of 12 books, with a second series with 2 books published already). Highly recommend the series. Can't mention junior spies without mentioning Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz. I've read the first three books and the series is interesting enough, but I want to finish up the Cherub series before I dive back into Alex Rider. A couple surprising finds were Agent 21 by Chris Ryan and Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted. Agent 21 starts when Zak Darke's parents die in an unexplained mass murder and he's left alone in the world. That is until he's sought out by a mysterious man: 'I work for a government agency,' the man tells him. 'You don't need to know which one. Not yet. All you need to know is that we've had our eye on you. There's a possibility you could help us in certain . . . operational situations.' Zak becomes Agent 21. What happened to the 20 agents before him he'll never know. What he does know is that his life is about to change forever... Alibi Junior High is the story of thirteen-year-old Cody Saron, who has never been inside a classroom but is well-educated in weapons, explosives, and martial arts; he speaks five languages and he’s traveled to every corner of the globe. He’s been home-schooled by his dad, who is an undercover CIA agent. But when a dangerous situation lands Cody in Connecticut with his aunt he gets his first taste of junior high…and he is not prepared. What made most of the books so enjoyable was that everything was completely plausible (although utterly unrealistic) - the authors went out of their way to stay away from super spy gadgets and 1-versus-1000 bad guys and I found myself wishing I was 13 again and reading these books for the very first time. The Cherub series alone is a great opportunity to fritter away a few days, so if you want something casual to read on vacation I would highly recommend it.
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Jan 14, 2013 03:06
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Cherub sounds great. Sort of like if Animorphs were about spies instead of teens with morphing abilities. And since you brought up young adult spy lit: Would starting the Nancy Drew series be enjoyable for an adult who knows virtually nothing about Nancy Drew? I read several of the Hardy Boys' books, but never dared to read Nancy Drew novels for fear of ridicule. Nancy seems like an interesting character, one I could probably relate to more than I did the Hardys. Would picking up Nancy's first book be worthwhile, or would the writing style be too much of a turn-off to an adult reader?
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Jan 14, 2013 19:16
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Oh man, I looooved Nancy Drew as a kid, but I'm honestly not sure if I would still like it now. The upside is, you'd probably finish the first book in like 30 minutes so may as well see if you'd like it.
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Jan 14, 2013 20:07
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DarkUltim8Hedgehog posted:Cherub sounds great. Sort of like if Animorphs were about spies instead of teens with morphing abilities. I don't see why it wouldn't be. I think the only thing that bugged me about the series as an older teen was that Nancy kept getting new convertibles from her dad and I was jealous. 
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Jan 14, 2013 20:08
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Thanks to you both, Corn Thongs and Zola. I've begun at the beginning: The Secret of the Old Clock, and though Nancy's skills as an investigator have yet to be called upon, I am already liking the character much more than the Hardy Boys. This should be fun.
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Jan 15, 2013 20:01
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DarkUltim8Hedgehog posted:Cherub sounds great. Sort of like if Animorphs were about spies instead of teens with morphing abilities. I'm on Book 12 of the Cherubs series and I'm sad that it's coming to an end - I've never been so disappointed about the end of a series as I am about this one. Even so, the plotting has been incredible and I have to hand it to Robert Muchamore because the writing has been superb. I may turn around after I finish the two books of the second series and start reading series one over again. Plus he has another series the serves as a prequel called Henderson's Boys that takes place during WW2 - the agents aren't formally organized yet, but they are the precursors to the Cherubs. Think I'll check it out as well.
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Jan 16, 2013 13:30
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Picked up Looking for Alaska by John Green earlier this month. I can't wait to read it. I'm going to get Fault in Our Stars either next month or in March. I think I'm going to to a block of anti-hero characters, it will include The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, Rage is Back, Looking for Alaska, and Fault in Our Stars. This is going interesting. I'll most likely do it after my true crime block.
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Jan 21, 2013 18:29
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What's the general consensus of Perks of Being a Wallflower? Thinking about picking it up on my Kindle; only $3.99.
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Jan 22, 2013 04:23
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I'm not sure I'd qualify the protagonist of The Fault in Our Stars as an anti-hero, or maybe I don't know the definition of anti-hero well enough. On The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I read it in college and liked it, although I haven't read it since, so it wasn't an instant classic for me.
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Jan 23, 2013 04:41
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noirstronaut posted:What's the general consensus of Perks of Being a Wallflower? Thinking about picking it up on my Kindle; only $3.99. I read it as a 30-something adult and thought it was everything that people who first read Catcher in the Rye as an adult say about that (whiny, self-pitying, etc.) but without Salinger's adept hand at prose. (I should say I first read Catcher as a teen and loved it, thought it was hilarious and Holden was very sympathetic.) So it might depend on how old you are/where you are in life.
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Jan 23, 2013 17:55
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Rabbit Hill posted:I read it as a 30-something adult and thought it was everything that people who first read Catcher in the Rye as an adult say about that (whiny, self-pitying, etc.) but without Salinger's adept hand at prose. (I should say I first read Catcher as a teen and loved it, thought it was hilarious and Holden was very sympathetic.) So it might depend on how old you are/where you are in life. I thought it was a little different, so I've completely passed on it for the time being. I'm looking more for something like Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. It has a really kind setting (bookstore, San Francisco, New York etc) and it deals with a crazy story while being placed in a real world. I also wanted something that takes historical events and morphs them into something crazy. Tarantino does it with Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, but I don't want something reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.
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Jan 23, 2013 18:48
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screenwritersblues posted:Picked up Looking for Alaska by John Green earlier this month. I can't wait to read it. I'm going to get Fault in Our Stars either next month or in March. I think I'm going to to a block of anti-hero characters, it will include The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, Rage is Back, Looking for Alaska, and Fault in Our Stars. This is going interesting. I'll most likely do it after my true crime block. Fantastic as they are, I don't think that Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars will have the anti-heroes you're looking for. noirstronaut posted:What's the general consensus of Perks of Being a Wallflower? Thinking about picking it up on my Kindle; only $3.99. I think a lot of the appeal of Perks lies in how strongly you identify with the narrator, who means well, but (inexplicitly) suffers from such severe social anxiety and depression that typical human behavior is difficult for him to understand. It's something that a lot of teen readers can very closely identify with, and to adults that have never experienced similar feelings, it can be a little off-putting. I didn't read it until I was in my mid-twenties and it remains one of my favorites, and I think had I read it as a teenager, it would've made those years a lot more bearable. I recommend it, especially at $3.99. You'll know after the first few chapters whether you'll love it or hate it. Now, something that's not yet come up in the thread: What do people think of Beautiful Creatures? I hate to say it, but the ads for the movie have really won me over, and I want to know if it's worth reading. It looks like it could either be very good, or the same hackneyed mythology and hosed-up gender politics of Twilight.
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Jan 26, 2013 15:09
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tvb posted:
I absolutely loved Beautiful Creatures. Although it is a paranormal romance (and I typically dislike PNR), it's more of a book one reads for the strange, eerie charm it has. It actually reminds me more of how fantasy used to be in the 90's, as it is filled with all of these eccentric characters who revel in their weirdness. For example, Ethan, the narrator, is a dorky guy who loves reading and makes frequent tongue-in-cheek references to Kerougac, Harper Lee and Vonnegut. His wisecracking voodoo-practicing nanny, Amma, is probably the best thing about the book. Lena (the witchy love interest) is sometimes frustrating but I was willing to set it aside because of how much I adored the novel. It's quite the atmospheric work. You really feel like you are in the middle of an ancient South Carolinan town while reading it. Lots of descriptions of the spooky, foggy town, the plantation homes, magic, general creepiness, ect. and I really enjoyed it for that alone. That said, I can see why some people wouldn't like it. Some have criticized it because it at times comes off as heavy-handed in its efforts to put forth a Very Special Message that discrimination is wrong. The town is predictably close-minded and right-wing Christian with a "we hate knowledge! We hate them weird protagonists 'cuz they spend time at the library!" undercurrent and that bothers a lot of people. The sequels aren't anywhere near as good aside from the second one, Beautiful Darkness. Captain Mog fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Jan 26, 2013 |
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Jan 26, 2013 16:59
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That sounds like exactly what I was hoping for -- I'll have to check it out. Thanks!
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Jan 26, 2013 17:57
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I don't know if this would be the right thread, or if there's a graphic novel thread around anywhere. Anyway, I'll ask here. I teach 7th/8th grade, and we do your standard "silent reading book of your choice" time. I have books they can borrow if they've forgotten their book or we haven't visited the library in awhile and they're done with their book. I'm always on the lookout for high interest readings at a variety of levels (I have students that read 30 words per minute and students that read 250 words per minute). I have found recent success with The Dreamer, a graphic novel (actually a web comic) about a teenage girl who, when she falls asleep, wakes up in revolutionary war New York. It's been popular with my low readers and high readers, it's been popular with boys and girls. Long post short, anyone have pre-teen/teenage appropriate graphic novel suggestions?
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Jan 26, 2013 18:33
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SlenderWhore posted:I absolutely loved Beautiful Creatures. Although it is a paranormal romance (and I typically dislike PNR), it's more of a book one reads for the strange, eerie charm it has. It actually reminds me more of how fantasy used to be in the 90's, as it is filled with all of these eccentric characters who revel in their weirdness. For example, Ethan, the narrator, is a dorky guy who loves reading and makes frequent tongue-in-cheek references to Kerougac, Harper Lee and Vonnegut. His wisecracking voodoo-practicing nanny, Amma, is probably the best thing about the book. Lena (the witchy love interest) is sometimes frustrating but I was willing to set it aside because of how much I adored the novel. It's quite the atmospheric work. You really feel like you are in the middle of an ancient South Carolinan town while reading it. Lots of descriptions of the spooky, foggy town, the plantation homes, magic, general creepiness, ect. and I really enjoyed it for that alone. I am currently stalled out in the first 25% or so of the book. I want to finish it, but just don't seem to pick it up. My big problem with it so far is that I just can't buy that the narrator is male. Nothing about it comes off as authentic to me. It sounds like an adult woman trying to get into a younger guy's head... and failing.
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Jan 26, 2013 19:42
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bitter almond posted:I am currently stalled out in the first 25% or so of the book. I want to finish it, but just don't seem to pick it up. My big problem with it so far is that I just can't buy that the narrator is male. Nothing about it comes off as authentic to me. It sounds like an adult woman trying to get into a younger guy's head... and failing. I'm a guy and I liked him. It seems like teenage guys are often either depicted as tough, broody, and badass or as complete idiots in popular fiction with very little in-between. I found it refreshing to have an intelligent male teen being depicted as a lead- although I do agree that he tends to come off as almost too well-behaved at times which can be jarring.
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Jan 26, 2013 20:53
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Tupping Liberty posted:I don't know if this would be the right thread, or if there's a graphic novel thread around anywhere. Anyway, I'll ask here. I teach 7th/8th grade, and we do your standard "silent reading book of your choice" time. I have books they can borrow if they've forgotten their book or we haven't visited the library in awhile and they're done with their book. I'm always on the lookout for high interest readings at a variety of levels (I have students that read 30 words per minute and students that read 250 words per minute). There's always the first few volumes of Brian K Vaughn's Runaways. Scott Pilgrim. Nausica, maybe, though it's pretty dense and violent in parts. We do keep it in the YA section at my library, but we also keep The Watchmen there for some reason, so I'm not sure if that means anything. ...I used to be a lot better at this. Four years ago I could've given you dozens of recommendations. I will say that you could probably stop in BSS and they'll probably have an appropriate thread (if only a general "Recommend me a _____") that'll probably get better results than here. Japanese Dating Sim fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Jan 27, 2013 |
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Jan 27, 2013 04:18
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Started reading Beautiful Creatures last night and absolutely love it. So outside the realm of the stereotypical "teen paranormal romance," so packed with gothic influence and atmosphere. Just addictive.
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Jan 27, 2013 16:02
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The big awards for children's literature -- Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz -- were announced today, for those looking for something possibly a bit more literary in YA. Code Name Verity that people have been mentioning up thread won a Printz honor (which is the Newbery equivalent for YA). The others were:Michael L. Printz Award posted:“In Darkness,” written by Nick Lake, is the 2013 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers. I haven't heard of or read any of these outside of Verity, but this might be a better source of quality YA than looking at what's currently being optioned for movies. I'm going to assume y'all don't care about the picture books and children's books, but I do want to mention that series fiction queen, Animorphs author K.A. Applegate, won the 2013 Newbery Medal for her book The One and Only Ivan. That's THE big award for children's novels -- it means the book is going to be in school libraries and classroom for decades to come, and kids apparently love the hell out of the book. I think it's pretty cool that she went on to become a big time literary author considering I always felt what made her aliens & shapechanger series special was how thoughtful it was!
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Jan 28, 2013 20:25
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Are there any stories you guys would recommend? I just finished Ready Player One and loved it. I'm starting The Hunger Games trilogy now, but I want to have something to read afterwards. I can't gouge my interests perfectly, but I like stories that have a hint of disbelief in them. Be it in the realm of science fiction, or something like Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore where there's a very relatable story with a long adventure hidden beneath it.
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Feb 2, 2013 02:57
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I know that it just came up, but having just finished Beautiful Creatures last night, I think it's something you could like. The ending is a bit unsatisfying (and clearly meant to breed a franchise), and at times the magical elements descend too far into that supernatural YA "we're making up the rules as we go along" territory. Still, if you can stomach the type of contrivances that are in fantasies like The Hunger Games, you won't have any trouble with this. The characters are believable, likeable teenagers and the romance grows organically (and not too overbearing). What the authors do especially well, though, is utilize classic gothic literature atmosphere and story elements. I could go on about this for ages, but the short version is that if you appreciate gothic lit and you're familiar with its archetypes, you'll find a lot to love about the atmosphere, the characters and the tone of this book.
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Feb 2, 2013 18:39
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Tupping Liberty posted:I don't know if this would be the right thread, or if there's a graphic novel thread around anywhere. Anyway, I'll ask here. I teach 7th/8th grade, and we do your standard "silent reading book of your choice" time. I have books they can borrow if they've forgotten their book or we haven't visited the library in awhile and they're done with their book. I'm always on the lookout for high interest readings at a variety of levels (I have students that read 30 words per minute and students that read 250 words per minute). The Young Adult Library Association just named 55 recent titles, and singled out 10 in particular, that are well-suited for teen readers.
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Feb 5, 2013 03:48
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I have been in a YA kick lately. Has anyone read the Pendragon series by D.J MacHale? I finished the first book a few days ago and really enjoyed it. So much so that I have checked out the next 5 books from the library. I read he was co-creator of Are you afraid of the Dark as well. I use to love that show when I was younger. I also saw the Cherub series mentioned on this thread. Great set of book. I found James more believable than Alex from the Alex Rider series. The kids/teens just seemed to act like a kid would or should.
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Feb 20, 2013 03:58
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Major thanks to the handful of posters here who recommended I read Nancy Drew. I completed The Secret of the Old Clock last night; it was a fun romp. Being from the 50s, there were a few things about the book that were unusual to me, a present-day reader... Lots of the characters were very one-dimensional, and it was easy to predict what their fate would be, because their personality was only as deep as it needed to be to fulfill their role in the story. And, most surprisingly, the book was harsh on Nancy's rivals, even by my standards. Sure, the Topham sisters were snooty and spoiled, but not only did they not get the extra money they wanted, their family actually lost all the money they already had and fell into poverty.  Just for being a little snobby..? Even I thought that was a brutal comeuppance, and I'm familiar with a great many stories of revenge.
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Feb 20, 2013 22:50
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tvb posted:
This is great! Thank you! I picked up two to use in my history classes: The Silence of Our FriendsA which is about civil rights in Texas in 1966, and Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb. Tupping Liberty fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Mar 3, 2013 |
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Mar 3, 2013 16:59
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DarkUltim8Hedgehog posted:Major thanks to the handful of posters here who recommended I read Nancy Drew. I completed The Secret of the Old Clock last night; it was a fun romp. Being from the 50s, there were a few things about the book that were unusual to me, a present-day reader... When you get through Nancy Drew, there's Trixie Belden....
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Mar 3, 2013 17:07
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In the vein of YA mystery, I also remember The Boxcar Children being fun to read in my childhood. I loved their sibling dynamics.
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Mar 6, 2013 14:44
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DarkUltim8Hedgehog posted:Major thanks to the handful of posters here who recommended I read Nancy Drew. I completed The Secret of the Old Clock last night; it was a fun romp. Being from the 50s, there were a few things about the book that were unusual to me, a present-day reader... Can't believe I missed a Nancy Drew post! One of the things about Nancy Drew (and about kids' series fiction in general) is that it's really big on moral values inculcation. There's a very specific moral code in Nancy Drew (actually two, because the books were all re-written starting in the '50s and the values they promoted changed with the rewrites--less racism and xenophobia but also less independence and more adherence to conventions and traditional femininity). Any of the characters who violate that code generally find themselves on the swift receiving end of karmic justice because the books were intended to teach little girls how to be. The code in general is very WASPy/upper-middle class, and there's a lot of "you need to be generous to those who are less fortunate than us" (with a definite hint of condescension to it). The other thing to remember about it is that the early books were written during the Great Depression, so snobbiness over money would be a pretty contentious issue. In fact, the later rewrite of the book (which I'm assuming is the one you read?) downplays Nancy's glee over the sisters losing their fortune pretty considerably--in the original book she's pretty happy about it, haha. A lot of the early Nancy books have that focus on the "nouveau riche" and the older wealthy families whose fortunes/estates/families are going to seed. And of course there's Nancy, whose lifestyle clearly paints her as wealthy but whom the books never describe as anything more than "comfortable." The whole series is pretty ripe for analysis, and class is probably one of the aspects with the most to unpack.
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Mar 27, 2013 04:25
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Continuing on the trend of YA spy-fiction, H.I.V.E. (Higher Institute of Villainous Education) is a wonderful series about how James Bond-like villains get their training to take over the world  .Also gonna remind everyone that the Chaos Walking trilogy is by far the best thing in this thread and that everyone should read all of it.
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Mar 27, 2013 08:06
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ungulateman posted:
Eh, I found the second and third book really disappointing, with shockingly poor writing in comparison to the first book. Let me say first that I loving LOVED the first book (Manchee!), I made everyone I know read it. So I go on to the second book only to find that it had an incredibly slow pace, which made it really hard to stick to the book. And then in the third book it's like he wasn't satisfied with the way the tension was being built within the plot, so he made all of the chapters too short and had them all end with a cliffhanger. These are all examples of the way he ends his chapters: “And I turn- And I fire-” “And he starts coming right towards us-” “And then we see just what exactly the brightest light source is.” “And for a second, I truly don’t believe my eyes.” “And the spinning fires reach us-” “And then she says something I never expected in a million years.” “Something’s happening in the town!” That's just bad writing.
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Mar 27, 2013 12:15
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From the recommendations in this thread I picked up 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone'. I'm not even halfway through, but boy howdy it reads rather like a manga. Chapters are often no more than two pages--if only to switch between POV--and the angel character is basically an anime character. Dark and broody, yet ridiculously handsome. He's also terribly confused by his attraction to Main Girl Character thought I guess it's more because he's never met someone outside his species and less Edward Cullens' I-am-so-attracted-to-you-mortal-girlthing??. Also I'm guessing something's going to happen regarding souls? Unless they full on dropped that from the plot. Oh well, it's a decent read. The Graceling semi-trilogy was pretty good reading, though I hated how Leck ended up. He went from a basic evil control-freak king who tortured animals to child rape voyeur. What the gently caress. I really did not expect that. From the mention of the bizarre statues and topiaries, I figured Leck was experimenting on young girls to turn them into animal-human hybrids. Basically making his own 'monsters' that he saw growing up in...whatever area the book Fire was set it. Also, does anyone else think that Leck killed the previous Monsean King and Queen's kid(s)? In Graceling Po mentioned the king and queen were childless, hence why Leck was made heir. That doesn't necessarily mean they were childless, just that Leck might have told people with his Grace that there were no royal children.  Though comparing Graceling trilogy to Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy, Bitterblue was far more enjoyable to read than Bray's 'Sweet Far Thing'. Jesus christ, 800+ pages was a bit of a slog. One great quality was that Gemma did not end up with Karthik in a boring 'Girl gets Boy and they live happily ever after' ending. Lastly, is the Chaos Walking trilogy about womens' reproductive rights? I've stumbled across way too many of those books disguised as dystopian/space themed novels.
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Mar 27, 2013 23:07
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Wedemeyer posted:
More than anything, I think the novel reads as a response to the people who say things like, "If I'd been alive in Nazi Germany, I would have totally resisted, helped the Jews, spoke out against the Nazis... I'd have never been a 'good German!'" It's a book I point my middle school students toward when they start saying how they don't understand how war atrocities can happen. It seems to be primarily about appeasement turning into outright collaboration. I loved the books. One of the things I liked about Daughter of Smoke and Bone was how it is part of a certain niche genre that many of my students love, but in terms of writing, it stands out as so much better than the rest. Laini Taylor's prose is pretty lyrical in places. A lot of it is super-anime-esque, but that's what my kids are into. I think she does it well. Oh, and I think you will like the big reveal about the protagonist.
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Mar 28, 2013 01:00
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bitter almond posted:More than anything, I think the novel reads as a response to the people who say things like, "If I'd been alive in Nazi Germany, I would have totally resisted, helped the Jews, spoke out against the Nazis... I'd have never been a 'good German!'" It's a book I point my middle school students toward when they start saying how they don't understand how war atrocities can happen. It seems to be primarily about appeasement turning into outright collaboration. I loved the books. DOSAB was one of the prettiest books I've ever read. Ever. And that includes adult fiction, as well. It's the type of book you read and think "drat, if only I could write like this..."
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Mar 28, 2013 15:19
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